Drug Design, Development and Therapy (Jan 2017)
Facilitated saliva secretion and reduced oral inflammation by a novel artificial saliva system in the treatment of salivary hypofunction
Abstract
Minkyung Kang,1 Hyounggeun Park,1 Joon-Ho Jun,1 Miwon Son,1 Myung Joo Kang2 1Pharmaceutical Product Research Laboratories, Dong-A ST Research Institute, Gyeonggi, 2Division of Pharmaceutical Sciences, College of Pharmacy, Dankook University, Cheonan, Chungnam, Korea Abstract: Saliva substitutes and/or lubricants are commonly employed to lessen dry mouth symptoms by stimulating and/or substituting for the secretion of saliva. In this study, a novel artificial saliva containing inorganic salts, including sodium chloride and potassium chloride, and bactericidal agents, including potassium thiocyanate and lactoperoxidase, was formulated in the form of a solution (DM-sol) or gel (DM-gel). Those in vivo therapeutic efficacies were assessed in terms of saliva secretion and anti-inflammatory activity in rats and mice, respectively. Salivary secretion was promoted by mucosal application of DM-formulations in normal rats. In particular, DM-gel resulted in 2.5- and 1.9-fold greater salivary flow rates compared to normal saline and DM-sol, respectively. In an in vivo efficacy evaluation in diabetic mice with salivary hypofunction, repeated application of DM-formulations alleviated histopathological changes in the buccal mucosa in terms of atrophy and thinning of the epithelium, compared to vehicle, after 4 weeks. Moreover, the DM-sol and DM-gel were comparably effective for relieving periodontal gingivitis, reducing infiltration of inflammatory cells, and normalizing the neutrophil level in the gingival gingiva, after 4 weeks. Therefore, the novel artificial saliva is expected to facilitate salivary secretion and restore physiological conditions in the mouth of patients with salivary hypofunction. Keywords: saliva substitute, carbopol gel, hypothiocyanite–hydrogen peroxide mixture, antimicrobial activity, diabetic rats
